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With the end of the school year, and beginning of summer break fun, I am almost always running behind when it comes to Father’s Day. This year I determined to be ahead of the game, and the kids and I have been looking for fun ideas that will make great gifts for Dad. In case you need a little help… I’m sharing what we’ve found and liked and ALL all free Father’s Day printables! (except the cupcakes – you have to make those:)

And, lastly… another adorable printable from Nothing But Country… you could do BOTH A&W Rootbeer and Rieces Pieces…BTW, craft stores has load of small glass jars and canisters that you can fill with the sweet treats of your choice!

It’s so close to summer break that my kids can almost taste it! And you can bet they are already planning their ENTIRE summer, complete with pool parties and water parks and running through the sprinklers. (Hey, it gets to 118 degrees here in Vegas… most of our summer plans include WATER!)

Since it’s a big topic of conversation in our house, the kids and I looked last night for some fun pool party /end of school year party ideas, and I have some fun inspiration to share with you today!

This next hot dog party theme could be used for some MANY different summer parties… birthdays, end of school year, 4th of July. Lots and lots of inspiration in the photos from this one, from the Hostess blog:

So, my family and I are going “camping” this weekend near Yosemite, for a fun family reunion. We’ve been planning the trip for awhile, and the kids have made a LONG list of things they want to try for the first time. Top of the list? Making S’mores!

Except.. we just found out that we might not be able to make a campfire where we’ll be staying. Which means… no s’mores. UH OH!

Thankfully we WILL have access to a campground kitchen (industrial size!)… and we have google… so I set out to find alternative ways to make S’mores, which do NOT include roasting marshmallows over an open fire. Guess what? There are LOTS and LOTS of ideas out there! So, I saved the day… and… a blog post was born!

Be prepared that when you set these nuts out for your guests they are going to go fast. They are absolutely addictive. (I was warned about that from my friends at Eat.At/Swap that first told me about these!) These black pepper nuts have a wonderful sweet, spicy and salty bite. I made mine with cashews although you can make them with whatever type of nut(s) you’d like. However, do use raw, unsalted nuts since you will be seasoning and roasting them.

Spiced Nuts Recipe (adapted by Bon Appetit, 1997)

1/4 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup brown sugar

4 tsp. water

2 cups whole, raw, unsalted cashews (or nut(s) of your choice)

1 Tbsp. ground black pepper

2 tsp. salt

Preheat the over to 350F. Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray foil with non-stick cooking spray to prevent the nuts from sticking.

Melt the butter in a skillet on medium heat, then add the brown sugar and water; mix until the sugar dissolves. Add the cashews, mix them carefully to coat with the butter and sugar, then lower the heat and cook, stirring often, for a few minutes until the coating thickens slightly. Meanwhile mix the ground pepper and salt in a small bowl.

Add half of the pepper-salt mixture to the cashews, mix gently. Working quickly, transfer them to the prepared baking sheet, pressing with a spatula to keep them in a single layer. Sprinkle the rest of the pepper-salt mixture over the nuts evenly and bake for 10-15, until golden brown (careful not to burn). Let them cool on a rack. Once the sweet-spicy coating has cooled completely (this could take a while. Once the pan is cool to my touch, I put the pan in the fridge for 30 minutes), break the nuts apart. They can be stored in an air-tight container until you are ready to serve them.

And finally, a very unique paper flower from Folding Trees. These are Japanese kusudama, and I can’t wait to try making some of them! Please note that the link above takes you to Part 1 of the tutorial. At the end of Part 1 is the link to Part 2!

I’m a fan of sesame noodles and I have many different recipes for them. I’ll start off with this recipe – it’s versatile, as well as delicious, served warm or cold!

It’s versatile because you can serve prepare it exactly as the instructions below direct and serve it as a side, or you can add grilled shrimp, bite-size chicken pieces or other ingredients to make it the main dish. It’s also delicious sprinkled with fresh, chopped cilantro.

This recipe calls for Chinese sesame paste which I could not find in my grocery store. They did have Tahini which is a middle eastern sesame paste and it would have worked beautifully too. However, not wanting to purchase an entire jar when I needed only 2 Tbsp., I substituted Hummus which is made from Tahini (and which we eat a lot of in our house) and it worked perfectly.

Also – I can’t get fresh Chinese egg noodles so I always sub fresh fettuccine and it works great every time!

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add noodles and cook until barely tender, according to package directions. If serving cold drain, rinse with cold water and toss with splash of sesame oil and the proceed to #2 below*. If serving warm, drain and toss with a splash of sesame oil.

I told you yesterday that I would have a fun, fab printable for you today. And here it is!

It’s a little different from some of the printables we’ve been offering so far… today’s free printable is a Treat Bag Topper. For your teacher… or teacher’s aide.. or anyone else you need to say “Thank You” to this year.

The file is in PDF format – the toppers are 7 inches x 5 inches, and come one per sheet. Print, cut, and then fold over, and you have an instant topper for your treat bag. Fill a regular size sandwich bag with treats of your choice, and then staple this zebra topper to it. Teacher Appreciation Gift – DONE!!

The end of the school year is ALMOST here (hooray!), and it’s time to be gathering your ideas for teacher appreciation gifts! We already have a free printable HERE that you can download and use… and I have some other fun ideas for you today too!

(Psst… and you might just want to come back tomorrow for ANOTHER free printable for your teacher… just saying).